Home for the Holidays
by Alouscrie
Summary: Inspired by Christmas Hero, this fic explores the events leading up to and resulting from Vivio's first Christmas, as experienced by Nanoha and Fate. NanoFate, with fluff and hints of citrus.


I do not own Nanoha or any of the characters therein.

This chapter explores the day leading up to the infamous Christmas incident in "Christmas Hero." If people showinterest and leave reviews (hint, hint), then I'll post chapter 2, the events of that Christmas night from Fate and Nanoha's point of view.

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"Na-no-ha..." a sultry voice whispered, promising sin as warm breath tickled the little hairs on the back of the brunettes neck, which stood to attention as the electricity rose between her and her tormentor.

The woman tried stalwartly to ignore the interruption and complete her report on her students' progress. She looked straight ahead at her private terminal, afraid to acknowledge the demon looming over her shoulder. For days, it had been following her; watching her. She could hear it, always there, prying into her thoughts. It knew her intimately--every dark secret, every sin, every desire.

It wanted her, and she was afraid that it would never stop, not until it had claimed her.

Nanoha stiffened and shivered reflexively as the warm lips closed on her neck and the teeth came down, nibbling on her sensuously. She chewed on her lip as she tried to ignore the warmth and guilt that flowed through her body together, mingling like lovers as they collected in her innermost depths.

Suddenly, the spectre of her sins made a slurping noise as its lips turned from sultry tease to swallowing fish. Unable to resist, the brunette giggled and sat back in her chair, leaning slightly into the other figure's embrace while her fingers tapped the keyboard gently. "Mou, Fate-chan, I'm working..."

"Starting earlier today, at seventeen hundred hours, you are officially on vacation," the blonde woman replied from her position attached to the brunette's neck, sliding her arms around the other woman and cupping Nanoha's breasts through her uniform. "Come and play..." she whispered as she began gently massaging through the soft fabric. "Hayate ordered us to relax."

Her face flushed, Nanoha smiled playfully, making a point of looking at the ceiling as she gently tugged Fate's hair with her left hand. "Ok, ok, I promise!" She began as the other woman started to turn her around in her chair. "But!" She said, grasping the desk with her right hand in order to resist the motion, "After Vivio goes to sleep!"

Fate turned and glanced thoughtfully toward their daughter's door, noting the light coming from it. As Nanoha turned back to her reports, the blonde gave her one quick, teasing pinch, and danced away, heading off into the apartment. Nanoha rubbed her chest ruefully, shaking her head and smiling at her friend as she looked over the data from the mock-battle that morning.

After some time, as the instructor was finishing her recommendations for device adjustment and beginning to compile her notes for individual training plans, she sensed a presence behind her. All at once, the brunette's danger senses perked up, and she spun around, throwing herself out of her chair and assuming an unarmed battle stance as she reached for her device. She stood staring into the empty living room as her mind tried to catch up with her reflexes and assess the threat. "Raging Heart?" the woman asked tentatively, hoping for a reply.

"Behind you, my master."

Nanoha spun around, lashing out at her attacker with her left arm, hoping to win the advantage. Her movements were slow, sluggish by comparison to her foe's, and the woman soon found herself on her back, pinned by the weight of her opponent, her arms held in one strong hand behind her head.

"Traitor," Nanoha murmured, seeing her device in the hand of her enemy.

"Do not mind, my master."

"My, my, I seem to have captured the Ace of Aces..." the woman on top of her said as she pocketed the red jewel and leaned in toward her captured opponent, bringing their faces together until they all but touched. "Surely such an esteemed prisoner deserves _special _treatment."

Nanoha turned her head to look toward her daughter's bedroom. The door was closed, and there was no sign of light coming from under it. Vivio must have fallen asleep.

Nanoha smiled as she looked deep into her foe's soft, seductive burgundy eyes. "Do your worst."

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Fate smiled as she calmly closed and zipped her suitcase, sitting next to it on the bed as she watched her lover frantically throw clothing into her bags. The blonde sat serenely in the midst of the chaos as Nanoha fussed and debated, tossing clothes out of the wardrobe and onto the bed in seemingly random fashion. "Nanoha should have packed last night, so she could avoid the panic."

The brunette stopped in her packing and stood with her hands on her hips, blowing loose strands of hair out of her face. "If Fate-chan hadn't been so _insistent, _then I might have had the chance. Now we're going to be late...mou, I'm hungry, too."

"Don't worry," the blonde replied, putting pressure on the top of the other woman's suitcase to help get it closed. "Breakfast should be ready by now. Vivio decided she wanted to make it this morning."

Nanoha's face darkened when she heard the news, and the woman gave Fate an agonized look. "Oh, no..."

Fate laughed as she stood, and gave her friend's hand a squeeze. "Don't worry so much, Nanoha. I asked Caro and Elio to watch her and help her out."

The brunette sighed to herself and leaned forward to give her companion a peck on the cheek. Fate raised her eyebrow as she watched Nanoha set her shoulders resignedly and start down the stairs to the kitchen. _Silly girl, _the blonde thought as she watched the brunette limp carefully down the steps, right hand clutching her hip as she eased her way down, bowing her legs slightly. Noting the extra wiggle in Nanoha's bottom as she waddled her way through the apartment, the blonde licked her lips and smiled happily before taking a suitcase in each hand. _Nanoha must pack bricks, _she thought to herself as she hefted the bag and started after the other woman.

The blonde arrived in what resembled the kitchen area moments after Nanoha and surveyed the damage. The counters were stacked with wobbling piles of detritus, and several unidentifiable fluid and semi-fluid substances were running down the cabinets and pooling on the floor. Something dark and smoldering was sitting in the sink as a frantic white-covered child turned on the faucet and tried to stop the smoking mass from igniting again. Another young, batter-coated child was standing in front of a horrified Nanoha, bowing and apologizing repeatedly, flinging small white flecks onto the floor and the brunette's boots. _I think the bowing must be Caro, but...it's hard to tell under all of that mess..._

A third lump stood proudly in the middle of the kitchen, blinking happily at the stunned women. Two large, innocent eyes smiled out from under the mess, one red, one green, as the small girl proudly held a tray of relatively-normal looking food on display for her mothers to see.

"Um...thank you, Vivio," Fate smiled, gingerly stepping forward and taking the tray from her daughter, handing it to the still-paralyzed brunette. "Nanoha-mama and I will eat ours while you go take a bath and change, so we can go visit grandma and grandpa, ok?"

The little girl smiled widely and ran off to the bathroom, leaving a silence in the kitchen as four sets of eyes surveyed the damage. Nanoha looked up in silent prayer, only to freeze when she say the half-cooked pancakes slowly peeling off of the ceiling. A large glob of batter slowly dripped down and fell to the floor, sending gooey shrapnel flying upon impact.

"Well, we can always leave it to the cleaning staff..." Fate murmured, moving behind her partner and gently rubbing the tension out of the other woman's shoulders. Elio and Caro both bowed, apologizing frantically.

"Nyahaha..."

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"Come on, Fate-chan! Slowpoke!"

Nanoha stood wrapped in winter clothes, sweating slightly in the Mid-Childan heat as she led her similarly bundled daughter by the hand and waved to her friend. Fate panted as she dragged herself after her family, carrying a bag in each hand and struggling to drag a wheeled-suitcase behind her. After nearly losing the suitcase for the seventieth time, the blonde stopped, wiped her forehead, and slung her own bag over her shoulder in an attempt to make her task easier.

"Nanohaaaa..." the woman whined as she struggled to catch up without losing any of the bags. "Why exactly am I carrying all of the bags, again?"

The brunette smiled cheerfully and cocked her head to the side as she waited for the other woman to catch up. When her daughter started forward to help with the bags, Nanoha gently knelt and held her back. "We're running over an hour late, because of Fate-chan," she began calmly, watching the blonde struggle. "Besides," she winced, standing slowly and rubbing her hips with her free hand. "Fate-chan knows that I'm hurt and can't carry anything without straining myself. And, Vivio is too small." She smiled, ruffling her daughter's hair as the young girl puffed up her cheeks and glowered.

"Alright, alright," Fate sighed, putting the bags down beside her. "In that case, I really don't need this."

The blonde began to take off her heavy black sweater, pulling it over her head and tugging it off of her arms, shaking her head to try and free her hair. She tossed her sweater to the brunette, who stood staring at the blonde in a manner that could only be described as predatory. The blonde glanced down at herself, trying to determine the cause of the other woman's gaze. Sure enough, her shirt had ridden up when she had taken off her sweater, showing off her well-toned (and slightly scarred, generally adding to the blonde's sense of shame) stomach. The blonde glanced around, determining that there was no one around, and stretched backward, allowing her shirt to ride up even more, before using both hands to smooth her shirt back down and throwing her best "love-love" wink toward her partner. The motion was not lost on the other woman, who smiled and ran her tongue over her canine wolfishly.

"Fate-mama, Nanoha-mama, Vivio wants to play in the snow."

"Hai, hai, Vivio," Fate smiled, re-shouldering her bag and hefting the rest of the luggage. "We're going now. We'll be in the snow in a few minutes, I promise."

The young girl smiled happily and ran ahead of her mothers, pausing at the entrance to the transportation chamber. She stood hopping from foot to foot, waiting anxiously for the women to catch up.

"Are you ready for your trip, Vivio?" the technician on duty asked, crouching down in front of the girl and offering her a candy.

"Mm!" Vivio gave the man her best "innocent angel" smile and clutched the candy happily, causing the man to laugh and smile.

"Remember to thank him for the candy, Vivio," Nanoha chided gently as she entered the room, Fate trailing behind her.

"Are you looking forward to your vacation, Nanoha-sensei?" The technician asked, standing up and smiling knowingly as Fate as she set down the bags and paused to catch her breath.

"Very much," the brunette smiled, walking over to the blonde and picking up her bag, ignoring the other woman's attempts to take it back. "It's a special holiday back home, and it will be nice to introduce Vivio to the family."

"Nanoha...your injury..." Fate said softly, placing her hand on the other woman's arm and giving a gentle squeeze, her soft eyes full of concern. _And guilt..._ thought Nanoha, smiling at her friend's expense.

"Don't worry, Fate-chan, I'm not that fragile," she said soothingly, patting the blonde's head. "I'm sorry I made you carry all of this over here." She smiled and closed her eyes, cocking her head to the side. "I'll make it up to you tonight, ne?"

The blonde could only smile as she picked up the remaining bags and prepared for the transport.


End file.
